Mar 27 2024

Reports From The Deep End edited by Maxim Jakubowski & Rick McGrath

subtitled Stories Inspired by J. G. Ballard.

And what stories! In fairness, it’s hard to write anything nowadays about climate change, dystopias or class-stratified urbanization (and certainly not technological erotica, vehicular or otherwise) without being able to trace influences back to that same scrappy, complicated kid who was the focus of Stephen Spielberg’s WWII movie Empire Of The Sun.

But subject alone is not enough to make a story feel Ballardian. Tho I’m hardly an expert on his oeuvre, when I think of what makes Ballard stand out from his peers, I think of a sort of tension between the protagonists and the often inhuman, uncaring forces outside of their control, followed not altogether gracefully by a surrender to inevitability. It’s important, I feel, that the protagonists struggle till the very end, and only capitulate when there is no other choice. Change is rarely welcomed, only accepted.

In this, all of the stories in this brilliant anthology succeed. Some of the stories, like the excellent opener Chronocrash by Jeff Noon, and Adrian Cole’s The Next Time It Rains wouldn’t be out of place in any collection of sci-fi shorts. The indelible weirdness of tales like James Lovegrove’s Paradise Marina and Chris Beckett’s Art App are hard to forget. And, of course, there are some entries that are disturbingly sexy, including Preston Glassman’s The Astronaut’s Garden and David Gordon’s Selflessness. That last gives us these excellent lines:

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/27/reports-from-the-deep-end-edited-by-maxim-jakubowski-rick-mcgrath/

Mar 26 2024

Silver Vessels by Steve Orlando & Katia Vecchio

Middle-grade/Young Adult treasure hunting by the sea, with a diverse cast of leads? Sign me up!

Josh Friedman is a young teen (late middle schooler? early high school?) who’s a wee bit obsessed with finding lost treasure. When he hears that the remains of a shipwreck have been found near where his maternal grandfather lives down in Florida, he immediately tries to convince his mom to let him spend the summer there. Grandpa Matt and his husband Grandpa Ivan have long extended an invitation for Josh to come visit, and to bring friends, too, if he likes — no kid wants to be stuck with only his granddads for company, after all. Josh knows that his best friends Hope and Hunter would 100% love spending some time on the beach, and will hopefully be just as enthusiastic when he brings up the prospect of finding where the shipwrecked treasure really is.

For Josh thinks he has a significant lead on the location of the wrecks of ships once so laden with treasure that they earned the nickname Silver Vessels. A news report mentioned the discovery of worthless trinkets in the shipwreck, but Josh is convinced that these trinkets are actually clues to where the vessels still lie in hiding. Once he and his friends get down to Key West, they can start exploring in earnest.

And sure, maybe he has a little bit of an ulterior motive in getting the gang all together. But he’s not the only one with secrets, as he’ll swiftly discover. Worse, The Apex, a society of cutthroat treasure hunters, has figured out Josh’s interest in the Silver Vessels, and isn’t above using the teens to further their own ends. Will Josh, Hope and Hunter be able to figure out not only where the treasure is and what to do about it, but also how to outwit The Apex while sorting through their feelings for one another?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/26/silver-vessels-by-steve-orlando-katia-vecchio/

Mar 25 2024

The Little Regent by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade & Ken Daley

Abioye is only eight years old when her father, the king, suddenly dies. As per Yoruba tradition, if the king dies without a son to take his place, his daughter will rule as regent for three months, until the village chiefs can select three men to nominate for kinghood. The villagers will vote on these nominees and select a new leader from among them.

Even with the power of kingmaking in their hands, the chiefs aren’t thrilled at being led, even if only for a short while, by such a young girl. In all honesty, Abioye isn’t herself sure about what she’s supposed to do now. Serious and responsible, she wants to be a good leader, but isn’t sure how. Her mother reminds her of her father’s philosophy: Those who will rule must first learn to serve.

And so Abioye applies herself to watching and listening, so that she can learn how best to serve her people. She quickly discovers that merely sitting in on palace meetings with the chiefs feels less useful than bureaucratic, as they talk about taxes, treaties and other subjects that go over her head. So she begins spending time with her subjects, listening to their concerns and learning what it is they need in order to make their daily lives better. Gradually, she implements improvements that make her subjects happier and more prosperous.

Unsurprisingly, this does not make her any friends among the village chiefs, especially when she overrides their opinions to get the villagers what they need. When the chiefs decide to force her out of her position, will she be able to continue to serve her people?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/25/the-little-regent-by-yewande-daniel-ayoade-ken-daley/

Mar 23 2024

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix

“Does what it says on the tin” is a lovely Britishism for a lovely British book because The Sinister Booksellers of Bath keeps the promises that it makes. It’s a direct sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, picking up a few months after the end of that story. Merlin and Susan are still together, though they are going through some typical young-people uncertainties. Merlin remains his enthusiastic, beautiful, fashionable self and can’t quite fathom why Susan only wants to see him once a week or so, but he’s smart enough to keep a good thing going and is giving her space. In Susan’s case the misgivings are deeper, though not about Merlin per se, because her first adventure with him revealed that she has strong ties to the Old World of magic and myth that permeates Britain just below the surface of modernity. She would prefer to just get on with her hard-won place as an art student, thank you very much, and leave magic to get along without her as it has clearly done for hundreds of years.

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix

Unfortunately, the Old World has other ideas, and that means that the booksellers who keep the Old and the New separate have other ideas too. Worse for all concerned, Bath appears to be home to an Old World entity that had been previously unknown to the booksellers. They don’t know what it is, where it is, or what it wants, but the available evidence suggests that it’s into periodic murder, and that it’s due to try again soon, probably at the winter solstice when the ranks of the booksellers are stretched thin anyway. Susan starts to look like the ideal victim, though of course she is not without defenses of her own. But then Merlin gets trapped in a pocket universe, and then stone statues of lions come to life and attack the booksellers’ main shop in Bath. Things are looking bad with nearly two weeks still to go before the solstice.

Nix promises action at a breakneck pace, and he delivers at speed. So many frying pans turning into so many fires. There is humor to leaven the tension, but Sinister Booksellers is all about people facing an unknown menace with not nearly enough time or resources to solve the problems that keep multiplying. They have ingenuity, they have each other, they have a bit of magic, and they have the occasional application of high explosives; it will have to be enough. I read Sinister Booksellers at the wet and chilly tail end of winter when I was feeling a bit poorly, and it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/23/the-sinister-booksellers-of-bath-by-garth-nix/

Mar 22 2024

Bizard And The Big Bunny Bizness by Chrissie Krebs

Now that Bizard the Bear Wizard (as Bear’s friends have dubbed him in the aftermath of getting a wizard’s wish-granting wand stuck on his head, unicorn-style) has saved the forest, he’s very much looking forward to enjoying his impending hibernation. But what will the other forest denizens do about getting their wishes granted while he’s fast asleep?

Bear himself is torn: he wants to help his fellow woodland creatures but a good winter’s sleep is something every bear should get to luxuriate in. Enter Squirrel, who is more than happy to step in to fill the void. All Bear has to do is wish for a wand for Squirrel to use while Bear hibernates. Surely, nothing could possibly go wrong!

Ofc, Fox and Owl — being much more sensible than the enthusiastic Squirrel — have their concerns. The friends decide on a test run of this backup wand, with one caveat: wishes may only be granted if Squirrel, Fox and Owl all agree on the outcome. A satisfied Bear goes back to bed, and the grand experiment begins.

At first, everything goes well, even if Squirrel does seem to care more about what he can do vs what the wisher actually wants. But Squirrel soon grows restless, and decides to go out into the forest granting wishes instead of waiting for supplicants to come to Bear’s cave. Fox and Owl do their best to tag along and temper Squirrel’s more enthusiastic impulses, but when a different sort of temper gets the best of Squirrel, certain disaster — in the form of a giant baby bunny — soon threatens the peace and happiness of the forest’s animals. Will our trio of friends be able to fix everything while Bear naps, or will they have to call in more than just their usual coterie of allies?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/22/bizard-and-the-big-bunny-bizness-by-chrissie-krebs/

Mar 20 2024

The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo (EXCERPT)

Back in December 2021, I had the pleasure of reviewing Steven Max Russo’s second novel, The Dead Don’t Sleep. Now, we’ve been given the opportunity to give you a sneak peek of his latest novel, The Debt Collector, publishing today!

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Abigail Barnes is young, pretty and petite, but her looks and size can be deceiving. A drifter who makes her living collecting outstanding debts for low-end bookies and loan sharks, Abigail arrives in Hackensack, NJ, from Baltimore, MD, and gets a job collecting for a small-time bookie, who winds up dead.

With a large Wall Street firm moving into town bringing jobs, prestige, and money, the press is soon up in arms about the killing. So the cops to put the squeeze on Ronnie “Slacks” Falcone, a mobster who heads organized crime in the Jersey City area, to help find the killer.

Soon Abigail finds herself being sought by a gang of hoodlums, the mob, and the police. She knows she can’t run and she won’t turn herself in because she has a past that could send her to jail. She has little choice but to try and find out who killed the bookie – without getting killed in the process.

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Read on for an excerpt from The Debt Collector’s very first chapter!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/20/the-debt-collector-by-steven-max-russo-excerpt/

Mar 19 2024

The Inventor, Vol. 1: The Dangerous Discovery by Lars Henrik Eriksen

Hahaha, omg, Linnea is a much better person than I am, I would never want to speak to Cobalt again after what happens mid-way in this book!

But before we get there, this graphic novel — with strong overtones of both Hayao Miyazaki and Pokemon properties — tells the tale of Cobalt Cogg, a young man who wants to grow up to be an inventor just like his grandfather. Grandpa is already viewed with some suspicion by the other inhabitants of Mata-Mata. Despite having brought electricity to the island, Grandpa Alfred is considered something of a menace. While his inventions do make life easier for the islanders, many of them are viewed with distrust, especially by Mayor Barlind, the dad of Linnea, Cobalt’s best friend. Mayor Barlind is a traditionalist through and through, and believes that the dangers of Alfred’s gizmos don’t necessarily outweigh the benefits that they bring.

Cobalt and Linnea, ofc, do not share the mayor’s concerns. But a freak accident causes Alfred to be banished from the island, and the friends grow up over the next five years without his presence. When Cobalt finally assembles all the pieces he needs to follow the blueprints Alfred left behind for him, he inadvertently shorts out the power supply that has miraculously run untended for the duration of Alfred’s absence. With Linnea’s help, he finds a solution… but also a greater mystery. Is the map that Cobalt found in Alfred’s abandoned lab showing him where his grandfather is now? There’s only one way for our young inventor to find out!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/19/the-inventor-vol-1-the-dangerous-discovery-by-lars-henrik-eriksen/

Mar 18 2024

Pretty Simple Coloring: Joy by Adams Media

subtitled 45 Easy-To-Color Pages Inspired By Whimsy And Fun. With bonus review of Pretty Simple Coloring: Love: 45 Easy-To-Color Pages Inspired By Happiness And Love, as the publicist generously sent me a copy of that book, as well!

Adult coloring books are still going strong, with the market increasingly diversifying to cater to various interests and skill levels. This often means greater detail in the books’ artwork, which also means more time and effort spent on the process: awesome for people who want to go into that level of detail, but maybe a little too complicated for those of us who just want to make something pretty without having to think too hard about it or, worse, work too hard at it. Coloring, for me at least, is a meditative process with a creative outcome. Having a sore hand at the end of the page feels a bit counterproductive.

So it was something of a relief to be offered books featuring pieces that are genuinely easy to color, without sacrificing beauty or even too much artistic complexity. Even within each volume there are different amounts of line- and pattern-work, so you can choose to color as broadly or in as much detail as you please. In general, however, the shapes are large and clear, allowing for the addition of detail should you wish to, but not losing anything in loveliness should you not.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/18/pretty-simple-coloring-joy-by-adams-media/

Mar 15 2024

The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall

First of all, the No-Girlfriend Rule is bullshit. If you’re new to role-playing games and are told that your partner’s group doesn’t allow girlfriends, I don’t want you to have to spend time reading this (excellent) book to learn that that “rule” is manifest garbage, and you either need to find a new partner or your partner needs to find a better group. The only valid reasons for a GM not wanting you to join a table is a) they have their upper limit of players already, or b) they don’t think your personality would be a good fit. Option b does indeed suck, but it’s valid. Not everyone likes everyone else, but to pretend that the reason is “ew, girlfriends” is super cowardly.

That said, you should really read this book, especially if you’re interested in gaming and are part of a traditionally underrepresented group in the hobby. So, basically, not a straight-passing cis white dude, tho straight-passing cis white dudes are absolutely encouraged to read this, too! Actually, every gamer or budding gamer should read this, so they know what’s acceptable behavior (Gloria’s group) and what’s not (Landon’s group, ugggh) when it comes to RPGs.

Anyway, the story itself is about Hollis, who’s wanted to be a part of her boyfriend Chris’ Secrets & Sorcery group for years. His Secret Keeper (basically the Dungeon Master) Landon is all “no girlfriends allowed”. Landon, unsurprisingly, is a colossal asshole. But as their senior year of high school starts, Hollis feels insecure about moving too far apart from Chris, and decides that she needs to learn more about his favorite hobby even if he won’t actually include her in it.

This leads to an unfortunate experience at a local game store (and hooooo boy, did I want to punch some of the stereotypical but not at all uncommon role-players she met there in the face) before she stumbles across a recruitment call for a girl- and LGBTQ+-friendly group. Gloria is the Secret Keeper for this group, which consists of her younger sister Fran, glamorous influencer Maggie, over-achieving Iffy and effortlessly cool Aini. They welcome Hollis in, even as Hollis herself isn’t sure whether she’ll be able to be “good” enough for the people she now finds herself surrounded by.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/15/the-no-girlfriend-rule-by-christen-randall/

Mar 14 2024

I’ll See You In Ijebu by Bunmi Emenanjo & Diana Ejaita

After reading this wonderful, tender memoir of childhood — so close to my own yet so vastly different — I finally understood how it feels to suffer from anemoia, a longing for a past I never actually knew. Is there a separate thing for when you wish this was your past, that this could have been your past if only circumstances were different, if the world were a better place? I’m not one to indulge in pointless nostalgia but this book made me truly wistful for a childhood not my own.

I’ll See You In Ijebu is author Bunmi Emenanjo’s recollection of her own childhood in Nigeria. While she lived with her Catholic family in Lagos, they often went to Ijebu, several hours’ drive away, to visit her mother’s Muslim family, especially for celebrations like Eid. This book describes the time when she was finally eight, old enough to start helping to prepare food for the Eid al-Adha feast, something young Olubunmi had been looking forward to for years. From the hustle of traffic leaving the capital, to the food both at home and in Ijebu, to Olubunmi’s thoughts on spending time with her extended family, this is a tale told with copious amounts of both care and love.

It’s a simple enough story, but the richness of detail really grounds the narrative, contributing to that (my) feeling of anemoia. The narrative prose is interspersed with paragraphs of blank verse that often incorporate Yoruba (and sometimes Hausa?) words to more faithfully portray the rhythms of Nigerian life. Diana Ejaita’s exquisite block-print-inspired art is the perfect complement to the words, capturing the bustle and color of the tale. Honestly, this is one of the best combinations of prose and art I’ve seen in a while: I was so impressed by how beautifully everything worked together!

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/14/ill-see-you-in-ijebu-by-bunmi-emenanjo-diana-ejaita/